New Delhi: Government has invited bids to appoint two financial advisors and one legal advisor for the privatisation of national carrier Air India and its subsidiaries, the Ministry of Finance said in a newspaper advert on Thursday.

The government gave the green light to sell Air India, which has struggled under losses and its debts, in June, and officials have said they want the process to offload all or parts of the airline by early 2018.

Interested investment banks and law firms have until Oct. 12 to pitch for their role in the privatisation.